The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) launched a major upgrade to its patent searching tool on 22 January 2025.
The One IPO Search tool represents an upgrade to the Ipsum service which has been in use for 13 years. One IPO Search has been launched with the aim of making IP searching more accessible to non-IP professionals. However, there are a number of improvements that will also benefit those working in IP.
For instance, there are user interface upgrades that offer an improved user experience and generally make the tool easier to use and navigate, as well as new features to improve presentation of data. It is now possible to present search data graphically directly from One IPO Search. This should prove to be particularly useful for competitor analysis work, enabling users to quickly see trends in companies IP portfolios, (e.g. the number of new patent applications filed each quarter).
By way of example, the graph below has been generated by One IPO Search to show the number of patent applications granted annually between 2014 and 2024.
Whilst at the time of writing, the version of One IPO Search represents a significant upgrade on Ipsum, there are more developments in the pipeline to further enhance the tool. Some of these include:
- Capacity to save searches and get notifications on patents (scheduled for 2025)
- AI-assisted searching
- Integrated Trade mark and design searches (scheduled for 2026)
- New APIs for bulk data access
Whilst it seems that most users are generally happy with One IPO Search (both IP professionals and businesses reported back with over 80% satisfaction), and it certainly represents an improvement on Ipsum, there are still some shortfalls.
Firstly, whilst the system displays patent information, it cannot draw up the actual patent itself which results in the searcher having to use a separate searching system to establish the extent to which a patent is relevant. This may prove particularly tiresome in freedom to operate searches and similar tasks. There is also no capacity to use Boolean searching with each field in One IPO Search being assigned the AND operator.
In summary, the One IPO Search may be best utilised in conjunction with a tool like Espacenet to provide a more complete offering.